Camp RYLA – Tim McNabb

Tim McNabb was the guest speaker at Rotary on July 29.  He has been the lead counselor for the District 6200 RYLA program for the past seven years. Tim is the owner of Pinnacle Computer Services, Inc., has been an active member of Rotary for fifteen years, and is a past president of the Houma Rotary Club and a past assistant District Governor for District 6200.
RYLA is an acronym for “Rotary Youth Leadership Awards” which is a leadership development program for Sophmores, Juniors and Seniors in high school that District 6200 hosts at Lake Fausse Point State Park in St Martinville. The four day camp includes presentations, activities, and workshops that cover a variety of topics such as leadership fundamentals and ethics, communication skills, problem solving and conflict management, and community and global citizenship.
Fifty eight campers from District 6200 attended the June 2014 RYLA camp, of which four participants were sponsored by our own club. Each participant completes a questionnaire to place them in one of four categories based on personality. With those results, each participant is assigned a primary and secondary personality type and assigned to a group. As a group, campers participate in team building excercises focusing on the ability of individuals with various personalities to interact together to achieve a common goal centering on the concept that team competition builds better leadership.

Camp RYLA program was June 12-15. Location was Lake Fosse Point State Park. District 6200 puts on the event. Our club sponsored four students. Two attended our Tuesday meeting. Emma Bourgeois, daughter of club member Ron Bourgeois won the speak off competition at camp. She was able to deliver her talk to our club as well. She will be entering her junior year at EDW. Chloe Collins, a senior at EDW also attended the meeting. She commented on the value of attending the camp and how much she got from it. Her personality characteristic was Gold, which she felt was right up her comfort level. Both thanked the club for sending them. They both thought that a big part of the learning process was working together as a team. Other students who attended the camp were Molly Delatte, a senior at THS and Lauren Bergeron, a senior at EDW. They will carry this leadership training into their futures as role models for their generation. By Steve Landry